THREE FORKS — Only two spots up for grabs to go to the 'A' state tournament in Florence next week. The top seeds showed up on Thursday, looking for the opportunity to make their presence known and go to state.
Bozeman 10, Dillon 0 (five innings)
After playing scoreless through two innings, the Bozeman Bucks jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the third after a two-run double from Dillon Coleman.
That would be more than enough run support as pitcher Jackson Burke was dealing. Burke would have two strikeouts, but more noteworthy, he threw a no-hitter and got the win as the Bucks would win by the 10-run rule in the fifth inning.
Belgrade 13, Anaconda 2
The top-seeded Belgrade Bandits created some distance against Anaconda in the fourth inning, as Cooper Vanluchene hit a bases clearing three-RBI double to give the league favorite an 11-2 lead after four.
Later in the inning, Belgrade made it a 10-run lead, as Lane Neill poked a RBI single out to right field. Like the Bozeman Bucks, the Bandits made it a short first day and Belgrade won 13-2 in five innings.
Butte 11, Livingston 1
Both the Braves and the Miners would score in the opening frame, but soon after that the bats for both squads went quiet.
That lasted until Butte's Kenley Leary poked a two-RBI single into right field scoring two and breaking the 1-1 tie. The Miners would go on to score one more that inning before ending the game with a seven-run fifth inning, which gave them a 10-run rule win.
Gallatin Valley 7, Helena 6
It looked like for much of the game the six-seeded Helena Representatives were bound to complete the upset over three-seed Gallatin Valley.
However, down two runs in the bottom of the seventh, the Outlaws clawed their way back and used some clutch hitting to force some bonus baseball. After a scoreless outing from Helena, GVO capitalized. With one out and a runner on third, Bo Hays skied a sacrifice fly to right-center field that would be enough to score the game winning run.
Friday winner's bracket
Belgrade vs. Bozeman, 2 p.m.
Butte vs. Gallatin Valley, 5 p.m.
